Manchester United's arrogance is to blame for Sancho signing failure | OneFootball

Is Jadon Sancho to Manchester United really dead?

The Premier League giants have been openly chasing the 20-year-old for months but Borussia Dortmund made things pretty clear on Monday afternoon.

It’s hard to imagine a more forceful statement than that.

Dortmund had reportedly warned United that any deal had to be done before 10 August, before the Schwarzgelben flew to Bad Ragaz for a pre-season training camp.

That deadline was, if Manchester United’s media briefings in the UK are to be believed, considered an elaborate bluff by those at Old Trafford.

Zorc’s iron-fisted responses to reporters suggest Dortmund were being deadly serious.

The club were clearly open to selling Sancho this summer but only on their own terms. Pay €120m and pay it before 10 August, then the player can leave.

According to reports in England, from Sky Sports and the Independent, United wanted to open the bidding at €60m excluding bonuses.

Perhaps they believed Dortmund would give in because keeping Sancho would mean a weak negotiating position in 12 months, when the winger will have just one year remaining on his contract.

But Zorc dropped another bomb.

Telling a group of journalists, with a straight face, that one of the most sought-after players on the planet signed a new contract and nobody even had a clue for an entire year. The Dortmund sporting director must must have enjoyed announcing that.

Even next summer, Dortmund will still have two years remaining on Sancho’s contract. Which, according to reliable local media Ruhr Nachrichten, contains no release clause.

Further reports released on Monday evening only illustrating United’s arrogance and underlined why any progress on a deal hasn’t been made.

Manchester United reportedly thought the price for Sancho “would/could” come down as the end of the window, which closes on 5 October, neared. But why? Dortmund have no need to sell and would then have less time to find a replacement.

United are also said to have felt the fee demanded by Dortmund was unfair and were frustrated by the “pace” of talks.

What talks?

Borussia Dortmund made them well aware of the terms – €120m by 10 August – required to make a deal happen. What else needed to be discussed?

The arrogance to respond with an opening suggestion of €60m up front is astounding and anyone with knowledge of Dortmund’s transfer workings know they aren’t looking to negotiate when they set an asking price.

Zorc and the Dortmund chief executive, Hans-Joachim Watzke, extracted the €140m they wanted from Barcelona for Ousmane Dembélé three years ago even after the player went AWOL, couldn’t be found, and went on strike.

They sold Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to Arsenal for their asking price of just shy of €70m even though he also went on strike.

Even if Sancho tried to force a move, United would still have to cough up the €120m they haven’t been willing to offer up until now.

A Manchester United, by the way, who caved after months of talks to pay the asking prices for Harry Maguire and Bruno Fernandes. Did they seriously expect Dortmund to sit down with them and lower the fee?

The Premier League club, Ed Woodward, and even the journalists who cover them don’t seem to have a particularly strong working knowledge of how Dortmund operate.

Sancho doesn’t seem likely to strike to force his way out and staying in Germany another year even means he can wait and see if clubs more ready for success than United, like Liverpool, Real Madrid or Barcelona, show an interest next summer.

Of course, there is still a chance Sancho could end this summer at Old Trafford. But you’d now have to think United would have to even offer above the €120m Dortmund had previously demanded, making an offer so good the Bundesliga club couldn’t turn it down.

One thing is absolutely clear: Dortmund were open to selling Sancho before this week but definitely do not need to sell him now.